Cruise Spotlight
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Norwegian Jewel vs Norwegian Bliss
The Norwegian Jewel was built in 2005. It was renovated in 2022. It's 13 years older than the Bliss, which was built in 2018 and renovated in 2024.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
Ship Size
The Jewel is considered a small size ship. Coming in at 965 feet long and 125 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 11-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Bliss, the Jewel is 44% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Jewel holds 42% fewer passengers than the Bliss based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Jewel has less space per person compared to the Bliss.
| Norwegian Jewel | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Jewel | Breakaway Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 93,502 | 168,028 |
| Length | 965 | 1,094 |
| Beam/Width | 125 | 136 |
| Passenger Decks | 11 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 2,330 | 4,004 |
| Crew | 1,069 | 1,716 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 39 | 42 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Jewel has twelve different dining options like Le Bistro French, Teppanyaki, and Cagney's Steakhouse. Of those options, ten are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other seven options have an additional fee.
The Bliss has six more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Food Republic, Main Dining Room, and Garden Cafe. eleven of these restaurants are complementary and the other fifteen have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Bliss might be a better choice. It has 50% more dining options than the Jewel.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Jewel might be a better choice then the Bliss. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Jewel & Bliss
| Restaurant | Norwegian Jewel |
Norwegian Bliss |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Included | |||
| American Diner | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Chin Chin | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Garden Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Observation Lounge | ✗ | ✓ | |
| The Great Outdoors | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Local | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Topsiders Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| A la carte | |||
| Dolce Gelato | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Starbucks | ✗ | ✓ | |
| The Bake Shop | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Flat fee | |||
| Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Food Republic | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| La Cucina Italian | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Moderno Churrascaria | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Palomar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Q Texas Smokehouse | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Sushi Bar | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Exclusive (open to select guests only) | |||
| Horizon Lounge | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Studio Lounge | ✗ | ✓ | |
| The Haven | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Jewel has 5 fewer bars than the Norwegian Bliss.
| Norwegian Jewel | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| A-List Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Atrium Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bliss Ultra Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cellars Wine Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| District Brew House | ✗ | ✓ |
| Great Outdoors Cafe | ✓ | ✗ |
| Magnum's Champagne & Wine Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mixx Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ |
| Observation Lounge Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sake Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Skyline Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Social Comedy & Night Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spice H2O | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spinnaker Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Starbucks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sugarcane Mojito Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Cavern Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Haven Bar* | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Local Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Pit Stop | ✓ | ✗ |
| Topside Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Vibe Beach Club Bar* | ✗ | ✓ |
| Waves Pool Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Jewel and the Bliss below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Jewel has a total of 3 pools and 5 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 1 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Bliss has more pools than the Jewel and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Bliss. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools are adults only on Jewel.| Norwegian Jewel | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 1 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 5 | 11 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 4 | 5 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 1 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the Jewel. Only 60% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Bliss, 65% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| Norwegian Jewel | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Horizon Park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Observation Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Race Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Jewel will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Bliss.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.
| Norwegian | |
|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | |
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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